George Eastman patents Kodak camera

On September 4, 1888, inventor George Eastman secures U.S. Patent No. 388,850 for a small roll-film hand camera and registers the trademark “Kodak” (Reg. No. 15,825). Designed with the novice photographer in mind, the device optimizes ease of use. The preloaded roll of film and new box-style camera revolutionizes photography, transforming the field from a specialized profession into a popular, widely adopted pastime.

Measuring just 3.75 by 3.25 by 6.5 inches, the handheld Kodak camera weighed less than 2 pounds and required no adjustments or specialized technical training. The once-cumbersome affair of taking a photograph—which in earlier cameras had required loading heavy glass plates—now only involved pulling on a string to arm the shutter, pointing the camera at a subject and pressing the shutter release.

The Kodak also streamlined photo development. Once the preloaded 100-exposure roll was finished, the camera could be mailed to Eastman’s factory in Rochester, New York. The company then developed the film, returning mounted prints, negatives and the camera reloaded with fresh film to the owner. To promote its sheer simplicity, Eastman coined the slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest.”

George Eastman was born July 12, 1854, in Waterville, New York. After dropping out of high school at 14 to support his widowed mother and sisters, he took on various jobs—progressing from messenger boy at an insurance firm to junior clerk at the Rochester Savings Bank. A career in banking seemed likely, until a potential land boom in the Dominican Republic caught Eastman’s interest.

On a colleague’s suggestion, he bought photographic equipment to record his trip. Eastman described the complete outfit as “a pack-horse load”: a large camera that required a heavy tripod, a tent for spreading photographic emulsion on glass plates, a plate holder, chemicals and glass tanks. Eastman never made the trip. Instead, he became engrossed in photography and was inspired to simplify the process.

The first Kodak was sold in May 1888, three months before its patent was secured. Within a year, more than 5,000 Kodak cameras were sold. Within 10 years, one photography journal estimated that over 1.5 million roll-film cameras had been purchased, turning snapshot photography into a national hobby.